Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first met in July 2016, but Life & Style has learned that she wasn’t exactly single. An insider tells Life & Style that the Suits actress “was in a bumpy phase” with her on/off boyfriend Cory Vitiello, a Toronto-based chef, “but they weren’t fully decoupled.”

And the future royal didn’t handle their breakup with much grace: As she started secretly dating Harry, Meghan, 36, stopped returning Cory’s calls and texts, the insider exclusively reveals, until “mutual friends broke the news to Cory [that it was over].”

Meghan’s avoided contact with Cory since then. “Cory is a founding member of Toronto’s Soho House,” another source tells Life & Style. “Meghan and Harry had dinner there in a private room once, and the staff and management were on the lookout for Cory at all times.”